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by Ray Baccari
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Iowa Democratic Party held a news conference in Cedar Rapids Friday morning to call out top Republicans over how they've handled Medicaid.
Two local elected Democrats, Linn County Board of Supervisors member Sami Scheetz and State Sen. Molly Donahue spoke at the event, and were joined by two Cedar Rapids residents who have been affected by the privatization of Medicaid and the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The event was the latest in the party's "Decade of Denied Care" Tour.
"They promised us it would save money and improve care," Scheetz said. "Instead, it drove up costs, denied care to Iowans with disabilities and helped close rural hospitals."
Medicaid was first privatized in Iowa 10 years ago after being signed into law by then-Gov. Terry Branstad.
A poster near their podium said the phrase: "110,000 Iowans will lose their health care."
During the event, Gov. Kim Reynolds was criticized for how she handled the privatized Medicaid program and Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Feenstra for voting in favor of the OBBA.
"This didn’t start in Washington," Donahue said. "This started ten years ago, when Kim Reynolds and Iowa Republicans made the decision to privatize Medicaid. They handed our public health care system over to private, for-profit companies."
The residents who joined the Democrats were Michele Steepleton, who's a caretaker for her sister, and Marjie Zach, whose daughter has a rare brain condition and utilizes Medicaid.
"People like my sister go without their medicine and insulin, put off seeing a doctor until their health is so bad that they need to be seen in the ER or hospital, which in turn raises hospital costs for the rest of us," Steepleton said.
Zach said Medicaid made her daughter's care possible.
"Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Republicans privatized Medicaid, and made hospitals choose between profits and people like my daughter," Zach said.
The Iowa Republican Party disagreed with the Democrats' assessment.
"Medicaid, in its current form, is financially unsustainable," Iowa GOP spokesperson Jade Cichy told Iowa's News Now in a statement. "Under Republican leadership, Iowa is restoring accountability through targeted work requirements for able-bodied adults while preserving support for seniors, individuals with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations."
"We have also made historic investments in healthcare, including $209 million in funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program," Cichy continued. "Together, we are reducing fraud, encouraging workforce participation, and refocusing Medicaid on those it was designed to serve."
A spokesperson for the Iowa Democratic Party said the party hopes to host another event like Friday's in Des Moines in the near future.
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